Folk customs reflect the life of the people -- their habits and
customs, ideologies and beliefs, social activities and the like.
Traditionally, folk customs and folk arts have been congenial twins.
since the New Stone Age, folk arts have taken shape and prospered
in all societies and all areas. Moreover, the longer the history
of a nation or people, the richer its folk customs and the deeper
their roots. The development of folk arts and the spread of national
heritage go hand in hand.
Among the various categories of ancient works of art that give expression
to Chinese folk customs and habits, folk prints are the most distinguished
because of their great popularity among the people, both rural and
urban, and their lasting artistic appeal.
A Brief introduction
Most ancient Chinese were polytheists. Aside from Buddhism, introduced
from india, and native Taoism, the common people worshiped and created
many other gods, immortals and ghosts. Their cult activities, of
course, may be more appropriately described as social customs than
as religion. A look at the extant statues in Buddhist and Taoist
temples and the printed images in Buddhist and Taoist scriptures
shows that both the Buddhas (for example, those in the Three Worlds
--- Bhaisajya-guru of the Privy in a Monastery, Sakyamuni of Saba
and Amitabha Buddha of the West Paradise) and the Taoist gods in
the Three Clear Heavens (i.e., Revered Yuanshi of Yuqing, Revered
Lingbao of Shangqing and Revered Daode of Taiqing) are similar in
appearance -sitting in meditation with legs crossed. Yet, the images
of the popular deities created by the common people are quite different
from these. To fulfill their desires and hopes for a good fortune,
a bumper harvest, a chubby boy, an official promotion, a peaceful
and healthy family, the Chinese people and the rural population
in particular created various deities to suit their liking. They
believed there were numerous gods in the worshiped with equal sincerity
Buddha and Li Er, founder of Taoism.
Almost everything usable in the Three Realms was administered by
the relevant gods, immortals or ghosts. For instance, the coalpit
was ruled by a deified mouse; the paper making industry was supervised
by the God Cai Lun(?-121), a great inventor of the Eastern Han Dynasty
(25-220), who developed a new way to make paper; the human life-span
according to some ancient fairy tales was said to be determined
by shou xing (Star of Longevity) , a venerable old man identified
by his conspicuously projected forehead, long and silvery white
eyebrows and beard and walking stick; Zhao Gongming and Ran Dengdao,
novel characters said to be of the late Shang Dynasty (11 B.C. ),
were worshiped as the gods of wealth and door gods. Everything from
deified historical figures to animals were believed to be in charge
of human affairs.
Depictions of these deities by anonymous artists and artisans in
ancient China appear in the folk prints, a unique and popular art
form, which has survived all perils and remained as a jewel in the
treasure house of traditional Chinese culture and art.
Origin and Development of Paper Joss
Feudal China was backward in many ways. Most laboring people toiled
year after year without enough to eat and wear. The farmers longed
for a bumper harvest, the handicraftsmen hoped to have a brisk market,
the fishermen prayed for a large catch, the silkworm raisers wished
for a cocoon boom. Everyone wanted a healthy and prosperous family
free from being bullied and oppressed by local corrupt officials.
These hopes and desires were vividly expressed in a unique folk
art form popularly known as zhi ma (paper joss, or paper horse,
or paper-horse print) . Zhi ma was also called jia ma (first-rate
horse). It was printed with the images of deities, gods and immortals
created by the ancient people, which they worshiped and prayed to
for blessings and happiness. paper joss was produced by carving
the outline in relief of the god's image on a woodblock and then
printing it in ink lines on colored paper . The prints were then
burned as offerings and sacrifices. A historical study has shown
that the paper horse or paper- horse print was originally printed
with the additional image of a horse on which the god was said to
ascend to heaven. thus, from the song Dynasty (960-1279 ) on, paper
joss was known primarily as paper horse. The emergence of paper
joss was closely connected with totems in ancient China.
According to historical records, most people in ancient China used
to wear and hang up paper charms to celebrate festivals. For instance,
on the first five days of lunar May, people put up the "Five-
thunder Amulet" and wore small paper charms. On the fifteenth
day of lunar August, they offered sacrifices to the moon. in the
meantime, the print workshops put moonlight prints on the market
for sale. They featured a full moon with a Buddha seated on a lotus
base and, nearby, a little rabbit standing on its hind legs grinding
medicinal herbs in a mortar. These prints ranged in size from a
square cun (3. 3 cm) to a square zhang (3.3m)4. On the twenty-fourth
day of lunar December, people used to feed fodder to the Kitchen
God's horse, believing that the venerable god would ascend to heaven
on it. And on the twenty- fifth, people burned joss-sticks to greet
the jade Emperor, who would descend from heaven to inspect worldly
affairs5. The prints "Kitchen God" and "Jade Emperor"
are works from Beijing.
The Printing and Variety of Paper Joss
Old printing wood blocks didn't wear well, blurring gradually due
to frequent printing. The artisans had to frequently cut new ones
after the original sketches. in cutting wood blocks, the image of
the god was first traced in ink on a transparent paper which was
then glued onto the woodblock. then the skilled craftsman cut the
outlines of the image in relief along the traced lines. in printing,
the woodblock was first evenly inked and then a sheet of fine paper
was pressed on it. in order to print with high efficiency, craftsmen
usually fixed fifty to one hundred sheets of paper in a position
and turned and printed one after another. When colors such as red
and green were required, the artisan applied them with a brush directly
onto the print. Exquisite colored works from Wuxi, Suzhou, Tianjin
and Yangliuqing were done either by pressing colored wood blocks
on the print or by a folk artisan adding colors to the image's facial
features with a brush. This process was popularly known as "opening
the face." Among existing ancient examples, a few are excellent
hand-painted works, most were printed with ink and woodblock and
designed to be burned as offerings. Because the gods the people
worshiped belonged to heaven and earth, they were not to be kept
at home for a long time. However, the family gods, i.e. , the kitchen
God and the Door God, were changed once a year or at longer intervals
and so were printed exquisitely. Judging from the contents and subject
matter of these prints, it seems reasonable to classify them into
five groups:
Deities worshiped by farmers: Shennong (god of Farmland), Ox King,
Horse King, god of Young Crops,Goddess of silkworms, King of insects,
God of Water, God of Hailstones, God of the Threshing Ground, Barn
God, Pen god, Village God, God of Carts, God of Locusts, flower
Goddess of Four Seasons, God of Livestock, God and Goddess of Wealth
and General Liu Meng;
Deified founders of trades and professions: The Emperor Huangdi
(for tailors), the Fairy Feilu (for embroiderers), God Lu Ban (
for carpenters and building workers), God Sun Bin (for shoemakers
and clay sculptors), God Li Er (for smelters), God Du Kang (for
wine- makers) , Confucius, or the Greatest Sage (for teachers),
God Meng Tian ( for writing-brush workers), God Cai Lun (for paper-makers)
, God Qingyuan Miaodao (for theatrical troupes), Goddess of Mercy
in white ( for jade carvers), Immortal Lu Dongbin (for Chinese inkstick
makers), God of Lu Yu (for tea shop workers), God Wu Daozi (for
painters) , the Emperor Xuan of the Han dynasty (for large-pancake
shop workers), Immortals Mei Fu and Ge Hong (for dyeing workers),
God Da Mo (for pedicurists) , God of Medicine (for medical workers),
God of Literature ( for printers) , Immortal Liu Hai (for needle-makers),
the Buddha Ouqi ( for silver -smiths), God in Charge of Life-span
(for cooks), Gods of Three Justice (for butchers) and God of Wealth
(for businessmen);
Popular gods of Buddhist and Taoist inspiration: Sakyamuni, Jade
Emperor, Three Great officials,God of Earth, God of Ziwei, God of
Gouchen, God of the Town, Goddess of sight, God of War, Great Immortal
Huang, God of Plague, God of the white Tiger, God Protecting and
Blessing Local People and God Supervising Curses;
Social customs: Ruler of Heaven Granting Happiness, God of the
South Pole, Queen Mother in Western Paradise, Heavenly Immortal
Delivering sons, Immortal Xiao Shi, god Nong Yu, Dragon Vehicle
of Heaven and Earth, God of the Star at the Tip of the Bowl, Immortal
Zhang Xian Protecting Children, Immortal Tianshi, the Divine Taiji
Chart (an auspicious symbol), God Zhao Gongming, God Bringing in
Wealth and Treasures, the Three Stars ( Happiness, Emolument and
Longevity) , Black Dragon Presenting Happiness, God Jiang Taigong,
god of Jupiter, Lord of Hell, Ten Heavenly Kings, Six Family Sages,
Gods from Five Directions, Buddhist Sutra Dispelling Enmities and
Buddhist incantations;
Seasonal auspicious folk prints: Playing Cards Printed with Heroes
from Outlaws of the Marsh, Promotion to a Higher Rank, Spring Ox,
Table Showing Eighty-one Days That End Cold Weather, Zhong Kui (
the demon killer), Tiger Suppressing Five Poisons, Horse of Emolument,
Five Blessings, Family Blessed with Good Fortune, Ruler of Heaven
Blessing Good Fortune, Riverside pavilion (for contracts), Door
God, Kitchen God , God of Sun and Goddess of Moon.
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